The present invention relates to mineral winning machines.
It is known to win coal or other mineral ores with so-called shearers which utilize rotary cutting drums and also with ploughs which employ non-rotary cutting tools. It is also known to provide high-pressure fluid emission nozzles to assist the normal mechanical tools. See, for example, German patent specification Nos. 1 274 544, 2 307 413, 2 548 952 and UK patent specification No. 672 336.
A general object of this invention is to provide an improved form of mineral winning machine.
A winning machine constructed in accordance with the invention employs at least one rotary cutting means, e.g. a drum or roller, equipped with cutters and high-pressure fluid emitting nozzles which are supported by a separate carrier near the drum which is adjustable in position. The carrier can be set forward in relation to the cutting drum and the nozzles then produce a preliminary kerfing cut or slot in the mineral face in advance of the cutting drum. Normally, the nozzles would discharge high-pressure jets of water with a pressure of at least 1000 bar. The carrier, although positioned in the vicinity of the cutting drum, is separate to the drum.
The machine can be equipped with two cutting drums, one at each end of a main body, and carriers with nozzles likewise at each end of the body. The cutting drums would usually be mounted on swingable arms pivoted to the machine body. The carriers can also be movably supported on the body by support means adjustable to bring the nozzles into selected positions. The nozzles can in general produce at least one preliminary slot in the mineral face in advance of the associated cutting drum relative to the direction of motion of the machine. The nozzles are preferably positioned however so that the nozzles provide preliminary cuts at the roof and floor level as the machine moves back and forth along the mineral face. These preliminary cuts assist the main winning work performed by the cutting drums by breaking up and loosening the mineral ore in the critical regions where the cutting profile defined by the drums adjoins the roof and floor levels.
The nozzle carriers can be adjustable vertically in relation to the cutting drums to position the nozzles as desired. The carriers are preferably elongate and the nozzles are spaced apart along the carriers so that each nozzle increases the depth of cut produced by the preceding one.
The nozzles can project perpendicular to the carriers or be inclined thereto.
The carriers can be pivotable about the axes of rotation of the cutting drums to adjust the nozzles in position. The support means for the carriers can take the form of further arms pivotably supporting the carriers for pivoting about axes parallel to the rotational axes of the drums. These arms themselves can be pivotably mounted to the machine body. Preferably the arms pivot about the axes of rotation of the drums. This form of support means for the carriers provides an ample range of adjustability for the operating position of the nozzles. Regardless of the working position of the cutting drums the carriers can be adjusted independently to cause the nozzles to discharge their high-pressure fluid jets either at the roof or floor level or at some intermediate location. Nevertheless, a preferred operating mode described in detail hereinafter has the drum at the leading end of the machine, relative to its direction of motion, positioned to cut near the roof and the drum at the lagging end of the machine positioned to cut near the floor. The carriers associated with the drums can then be positioned in corresponding manner to cause the nozzles to produce preliminary slots in advance of their respective cutting drums.
The fluid or water supplied to the nozzles can be conveyed via pipes or conduits conveniently situated within the arms supporting the cutting drums and the carriers and also, if desired, through the shafts pivotably mounting the support arms of the drums and rotatably mounting the drums.
The invention may be understood more readily, and various other features of the invention may become apparent, from consideration of the following description.